Pioneer and Sharp Blu-ray Recorder

If you've been saving your lunch money to buy a brand spankin' new Pioneer Blu-ray player, you might want to hold off just a little longer. Well, unless you like buying something just months before a better version comes out. Pioneer, along with their major shareholder Sharp, announced plans to launch a set-top Blu-ray DVD recorder later this year. Sharp already has Blu-ray recorders available. Who will see them first?

Lucky recording-happy folks in Japan will get first dibs, followed by launches in Europe and North America. A report indicated that the demand for Blu-ray recorders in Japan could jump 18 time to 3.6 million by the year 2012.

Price for the player/recorder has not been announced yet. Wonder if it's going to be worth the wait. -Leslie Shapiro